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Tara, the Buddhist Savior

14th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 252
Tara, the supreme Buddhist saviouress, grants boons to devotees with her outstretched lower hand delicately clasping a flower bud. A lotus in full bloom adorns her shoulder. She is richly bejeweled, her openwork diadem inset with turquoise and semiprecious stones. In Vajrayana Buddhism, Tara is often presented as the spiritual counterpart to Avalokiteshvara and shares with him a premier role in Tibet as a compassionate protectress. Tara appears in many forms, of which Sitatara, the White Tara, who displays a lotus (padma), was the most popular. It is likely Sitatara who is represented here, the embodiment of perfected wisdom and wish-fulfilling granter of boons.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Tara, the Buddhist Savior
  • Period: Malla period
  • Date: 14th century
  • Culture: Nepal, Kathmandu Valley
  • Medium: Gilt copper alloy with color and semiprecious stone inlay
  • Dimensions: H. 23 1/4 in. (59.1 cm); H. incl. base 26 in. (66 cm); W. 10 1/2 in. (26.7 cm); D. 5 in. (12/7 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Louis V. Bell Fund, 1966
  • Object Number: 66.179
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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